Area retailers announce Black Friday hours

The Rochester-area malls have announced their schedules for Nov. 23, better known as Black Friday, the kickoff date for the holiday shopping season.

Wilmorite Management Group LLC announced this week that Marketplace Mall, Eastview Mall and the Mall at Greece Ridge will each open at 6 a.m. on Black Friday.

Some of the individual retailers in the mall will open even sooner. Wilmorite officials said more than 50 stores at Marketplace and more than 60 stores at Greece Ridge will open at midnight Thanksgiving night, while more than 60 stores at Eastview will open earlier than 6 a.m. Friday.

A list of early openings can be found at each of the malls’ websites, while holiday shopping guides, listing hours and exclusive sales, can be found at rochestermalls.com.

Many national retailers created a buzz last year by opening their doors for holiday shopping deals at 10 p.m. Thanksgiving night last year. This year some will open even sooner.

Both Sears and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced earlier this week that their stores plan to open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving night. Toys ‘R’ Us stores and Target Corp. stores plan to open at 9 p.m.

Small Business Saturday, which is heavily promoted by American Express Co. and the U.S. Small Business Administration, enters its third year and will take place Nov. 24.

Meanwhile, Cyber Monday, which features a number of online shopping deals from retailers such as Home Depot, Best Buy and Overstock.com, will take place Nov. 26. A list of deals for Cyber Monday is available at Shop.org.